Big Bend National Park

Here is a sneak peak at portion of the Chisos Mountains located in Big Bend National Park (located in Texas).  Tyrell and I spent our Thanksgiving this year in Big Bend exploring what the park had to offer.  Which was A LOT!  I will be sharing more of my images from Big Bend over the next few days.  Stay tuned!  

Frost

Frost is a delicate element of nature.  The simplicity and harmony of the frost that morning brought a calm and stillness to the morning.   

Winter Wonderland

 Although I do not wish for winter to be upon anyone soon I think I may have felt like editing these photos because in Austin it has been a steady 90+ degrees with humidity.  So some days I miss (In SMALL doses) the chill of a Montana day.  Winter is a beautiful time in Montana.  On this particular morning I can remember the clouds settling really low in the morning and then as soon as the sun started to come over the valley it cleared up the clouds and left a beautiful dusting of frost upon everything - it was truly a winter wonderland.  

Spring Time in Austin

Summer is in full swing in Austin for this Montana native.  We've reached 90+ degree days and it doesn't look like its turning cold any time soon.  With the warm weather comes a variety of different blooming plants.  This particular tree was found on Austin's State Capitol lawn.  This picture was actually taken in the middle of March.  I am glad to report that there is an actual spring time in the south!

Oak

Oak trees are seen every where in Texas. This particular tree was spotted right inside the Texas border on our trip down from Montana.

St Edwards Trail -- Wildflowers

On one of Austin's many blue bird sky days we set out for a little day hike.  Being new to Austin we decided to go for a short hike to get a feel for the terrain, weather etc.  The hike mostly took place along Bull Creek.  The wildflowers depicted in this photograph were found in the clearing before the creek.  The bluebonnets were blanketing the ground giving off a really sweet scent.  The bluebonnet is the Texas state flower and this spring has been in full bloom all over.  The amount of rain we've received has allowed for a wide variety of colors and types of wildflowers.  

Yellowstone National Park - Enduring Trees

The interesting colors do not come from a filter but from nature.  This image is from the same trip that I took to Yellowstone during the fire.  These particular trees have seen fire in their past.  You can see the old growth on top that wasn't reach by the fire and the new growth coming up from the forest floor.  I found this to be an interesting juxtaposition of new and old.

Yellowstone National Park - Fire

Driving through Yellowstone National Park at the end of it's busy season we found ourselves slowed down by traffic.  Usually large crowds of visitors to the park would slow down travel, but on this particular day a lightning started fire was slowing down our progress through the park- named the Arnica Fire.  Lightning started fires in the park generally extinguish on their own.  Yellowstone is a fire-adapted ecosystem, and fire plays a major role in maintaing the health of the area's wildlife and vegetation by clearing old underbrush and allowing for new growth - Mother Nature's way of cleaning!

This photograph was taken off the road near a grove right before Yellowstone Lake came into view.  The sun was shining beautifully on the landscape while the smoke was diffusing it.

Tyler - Photo Session

This handsome man is my cousin Tyler.  He recently asked me to take some professional photos of him for an upcoming television show he is going to be apart of.  These are a few of my favorites from the session we had.  He's a natural in front of the camera and I hope these help his days of fame.  Best wishes Tyler!

Cathedral of Junk - Austin, TX

One of the inside stairwells 

Outside view 

Inside view looking down from one of the levels

With a couple of close friends visiting Austin I wanted to take them to something that was unique to Austin and tells of its character.  The Cathedral of Junk stands quietly in the backyard of a small house on a suburban street on the south side of Austin, TX.  The conditions were perfect to explore this eye catching building size sculpture.  We all spread out into various directions exploring, each of us yelling out to each other of all the great finds.  Within this sculpture there is families of birds, various vine plants that have been living harmoniously amongst the junk and layers of junk that allow you to climb safely above ground.  There was a spectacle of objects of every shape, size and color.  We easily spent an hour there and I know I will be back to explore some more.    

Montana Winter

I recently re-located myself to Austin, TX - we've been here a little over two weeks and are enjoying it so far.  I am in search of a better job market for the arts, a change of pace and different climate - Austin had all of that to offer!

With the move my blog updates have been really lacking (actually non-existant).  So with 2010 here, one of my resolutions is to continue to blog new photos weekly.

I thought I'd put this picture up because it reminds me of why I love Montana and also why I was ready for a change of climate.  This picture was taken the day after a storm had come through Bozeman - dumping multiple feet of snow on our community.  Although this snow did not stop daily activity from going on it did slow down the town.  I really enjoyed the contrast of the truck and blue skies against the piles of snow.  Plus these old trucks are always fun to photograph and generally have a story of their own.

Yellowstone National Park - Buffalo

One of the many Buffalo that we experienced in Yellowstone Park.  The wind was blowing really hard when we stopped to take some photos of the buffalo - he was standing all alone in a ravine.  I found him to be very regal standing amongst the whispering blades of grass.

Carroll College Fighting Saints

My youngest brother Matthew Tummel (Aka. Matt or Mattie) plays football for the Carroll College Fighting Saints.  It is his senior year this year.  Him and his fellow teammates are currently in the playoffs fighting their way to the championship game.  They finished off their regular season 12-0.  I am very proud of Mattie and wanted to show a sampling of some of the photos I have from his games.

Also, Its his birthday tomorrow (12.2) - he's going to be 23!  Happy Birthday Mattie!!

An Ode to Thanksgiving

This is a photograph I took last Thanksgiving when I was at my parents house for the holiday.  The dried corn and neutral shades of browns and yellows remind me of Thanksgiving.

Mammoth Hotsprings - Yellowstone National Park

This picture was taken near the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park - Mammoth Hotsprings.  These are some of the hotspring terraces that the Mammoth has to offer.  I was drawn in by the subtle colors and the layering of the terrace that happens over time.

The hot water combines with limestone to create new land right before the visitors eyes.  The landscape of the hotsprings terraces changes daily.  The beautiful colors of pink, green, brown, yellow and orange are caused by bacteria and other organisms living on the rock.  Yellowstone National Park was the first national park of the United States.

New Beginnings - New Goals

To all of my followers and new followers to my blog I am challenging myself to post 5 new photographs a week. Whether they are photographs from the past that are in much need of being seen or new photographs that are screaming to be seen. The only rule is that I will never post the same photograph twice.

If you are interested in purchasing a photograph as a gift for someone or yourself please contact me. I am also available for commisioned photographs if you dont see exactly what your interested in.

So please enjoy and comment freely.

Fresh Work

Randoms in the Works

A couple images from a trip to the Oregon coast that I have been working on.  I love to shoot lots of photographs, so now I am going through my millions of pictures and finding the gems.  Let me know what you think of these two.

Sampling of Projects

Here is a sampling of my Senior Photography Projects.  We did one each semester for the Senior year.  Over each semester we were asked to start with a theme and let it grow throughout the semester by taking pictures, editing, getting feed back from our professors and fellow students and at the end of the semester present them as a finished body of work.  I still like to believe that both of my projects still have room for more additions.

The above images were from my second semester of my Senior year - I did a focus on parts of the body and made an emphasis with shadows and particular cropping.  A quote from a book I read sums up what I was trying to say with this project - "How right that the body changed over time, becoming a gallery of scars, a canvas of experience, a testament to life and one's capacity to endure it." - Janet Fitch Author of Paint it Black

With this project I was in my first semester of my Senior year.  I had just ended yet another summer of working for a landscaping company.  I had been working closely with nature and was often up close and personal with plants while doing my work.  I have always had an affinity color and was drawn to the lines and shapes that plants make when seen from a macro prospective.  

I am currenty getting back into the landscape field for yet another summer in Bozeman.  I am hoping to get some fresh images for my macro series.  I am also going to get my retro green chair back into my photographs, so watch for that in the future.  

Just Off the Road

Montana has a lot to offer in its all natural way of life.  On my recent drives to Helena for Easter and a lazy Sunday drive I snapped some shots of the Bozeman, MT area in April.  Although it is lacking in any vibrant colors I find the monochromatic and flat images to say something about the time of year, but there is also a simplicity that is very pleasing.  

These being some of my first posts I would love any feedback or image ideas.  I am going to dedicate myself to posting new images at least weekly, so make sure to check in for new things!